Knowing how to measure things is one of the keys to improving the accuracy of your work, but taking a measurement and using the result of that measurement to mark your work or set up a tool often leads us down the wrong path, leaving us farther away from making two pieces that fit together … Read more
In hand-tool woodworking, brains almost always trump brawn. For example, when I need to remove a lot of material from a localized area, I need to think like a tree assassin and exploit its weaknesses. Think about it for a minute: Trees are much stronger in the vertical axis than they are in the horizontal. … Read more
Even if I have an entire shop filled with power equipment, I like to cut my rabbets by hand. Why? It’s fast and fun. Once you master a rabbet plane or a moving fillister plane, your router table and table saw will get a lot less use. To push you along this path, I wrote … Read more
I’ve long been a fan of cutting tenons on the table saw. I’ve found it can be done quickly, with repeatable accuracy and safely. Recently, I discovered a new saw blade with a thick, 1/4″-wide tooth that’s ground flat on the top, and it’s perfect for this operation. This Infinity Tools thick-kerf, flat-top blade eliminates … Read more
A friend of mine used to claim that his favorite tool was his own spit. I’d never claim such a thing publicly, but I do admit to using some rather unorthodox tools at times: I’ve sharpened paint-can keys to scrape off glue squeeze-out, and ground threaded rod into various shapes for stamping wood. In this … Read more
I finished yesterday fitting the three bottom drawers to the Campaign Secretary I’m building and I started in on building the gallery – it’s all dovetailed now. I’d be quite happy with my progress if I weren’t about to get into a car. For the next 10 days I’ll be on the road, taping a … Read more
I examined lots of tool chests when researching “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” and found that their designs fell into two broad categories: 1. The plain and simple pine boxes with trays. 2. The pre-industrial monster truck chest with scantily clad tarts, parquetry, secret compartments and a bottle opener. You don’t see a lot of chests … Read more
